SoulCalibur V Soundtrack Will Be an East-Meets-West Epic

Nothing gets your blood pumping quite like the soundtrack to a SoulCalibur game, and it seems like that of the series’ fifth incarnation will be upping the ante. A smattering of composers from around the globe will be combining their powers to produce an epic symphony of East-meets-West brilliance.

Some of the biggest names in the business are lending their talents to the title, including Hiroki Kikuta (Secret of Mana), Inon Zur (Dragon Age, Crysis), Cris Velasco (God of War, Darksiders), and Andrew Aversa a.k.a. “zircon” of OverClocked Remix fame. Audio director and franchise veteran Junichi Nakatsuru is also along for the ride once more, having overseen the soundtrack for every SoulCalibur title.

These artists all belong to a group known as the CIA — Central Intelligence Artists. The group is run by Eminence Symphony Orchestra founder and violinist Hiroaki Yura, who will also have a heavy hand in the SoulCalibur V soundtrack. Over at the ESO official website, you can sample tracks and pre-order the soundtrack, which drops on January 31 along with the game. The soundtrack includes 3 CDs and a bonus DVD with behind-the-scenes footage of its creation. Namco Bandai will include a single disc soundtrack with the collector’s edition of the game itself in North America and Europe.

As a game music nerd this excites me — the involvement of ESO’s Yura is promising, as the group has gained quite a worldwide following and has a knack for producing heart-melting arrangements. Certainly there will be some worthy gems in this one to run to — I can’t be the only weirdo that includes SoulCalibur music on her workout playlists.